🔗 Share this article Moscow Responds at the EU's Scheme to Loan Immobilized Russian Funds to Ukraine Kyiv remains running out of cash to sustain its armed forces and economy afloat, after close to 48 months of full-scale conflict with Russia. For Europe, the solution to filling Ukraine's budget hole of €135.7bn for the coming 24 months lies in assets belonging to Russia that are frozen held by Belgian bank Euroclear, and European Union officials hope to sign that off at their meeting in Brussels next week. Authorities in Russia warn the EU plan would be an illegal seizure, and Moscow's monetary authority announced on Friday it was taking to court Euroclear in a Moscow court ahead of a conclusive plan is made. 'Appropriate' to Utilize Russia's Assets, Argue European and Ukrainian Officials Overall, Russia has roughly €210bn of its assets frozen in the EU, and €185bn of that is in the custody of Euroclear. European and Ukrainian authorities argue that that capital should be used to restore what Russia has destroyed: EU officials terms it a "loan for reparations" and has proposed a plan to prop up Ukraine's economy to the tune of €90bn. "It is appropriate that the assets frozen from Russia should be used to reconstruct what Russia has devastated – and that that capital then becomes ours," says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the assets will "allow Ukraine to shield itself successfully against future Russian attacks". Russia's court action was expected in Brussels. But it is not only Moscow that is unhappy. Belgium is anxious it will be burdened by an enormous bill if it all backfires, and Euroclear CEO Valérie Urbain argues using the assets could "disrupt the world's financial order". Euroclear also has an approximate €16-17bn immobilised in Russia. Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has presented the EU with a series of "rational, reasonable, and justified conditions" before he will accept the reparations plan, and he has left open the possibility of legal action if it "carries significant risks" for his country. What is the EU's Proposal? European Union officials is working to the wire ahead of next Thursday's summit to agree on a solution that Belgium can agree to. Previously the EU has held off accessing the frozen capital directly but for the past year has paid the "excess income" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that totaled €3.7bn. Juridically, using the interest is considered safe as Russia is subject to sanctions and the earnings are not Moscow's sovereign assets. But foreign defense assistance for Ukraine has fallen significantly in 2025, and Europe has had trouble trying to compensate for the gap resulting from the US decision to all but stop funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump. There are at the moment two EU options seeking to supplying Ukraine with €90bn, to pay for a majority of its budgetary necessities. One is to raise the money on financial markets, guaranteed by the EU budget as a collateral. This is Belgium's first choice but it needs a consensus by EU leaders and that would be difficult when two member states are against funding Ukraine's military. This makes the other option providing a loan of Ukraine cash from the Moscow's immobilized capital, which were initially held in securities but have now predominantly turned into cash. That money is owned by Euroclear located within the European Central Bank. The EU's executive accepts Belgium has valid worries and claims it is confident it has resolved them. The plan is for Belgium to be safeguarded with a assurance applying to all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU. If Euroclear incur losses of its own assets in Russia, the loss would be compensated from assets belonging to Russia's own settlement agency which are in the EU. If Russia went after Belgium itself, any judgment by a Russian court would not be enforced in the EU. As an important step, EU ambassadors are poised to endorse on Friday to freeze indefinitely Russia's central bank assets held in Europe indefinitely. Previously they have had to vote by consensus every six months to continue the freeze, which could have meant a constant risk to Belgium. The EU ambassadors are expected to use an extraordinary measure under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets remain frozen as long as an "clear risk to the financial well-being of the union" continues. The Reasons Belgium is Not Yet On Board Brussels is firm it remains a strong supporter of Ukraine, but identifies legal risks in the plan and fears being left to handle the repercussions if things do not work out. A typically partisan political environment in this case has united behind Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is facing pressure from fellow EU leaders. "The Belgian economy is not large. Belgian GDP is approximately €565bn – imagine if it would need to carry a €185bn bill," notes Veerle Colaert, professor of financial law at KU Leuven University. While the EU might be able to secure adequate guarantees for the loan itself, Belgium fears an added risk of being vulnerable to extra legal costs. Prof Colaert also believes the stipulation for Euroclear to issue credit to the EU would breach EU banking regulations. "Banks need to follow prudential rules and shouldn't make one enormous loan. Now the EU is asking Euroclear to do just that. "What is the purpose of these financial regulations? It's because we want banks to be solvent. And if things go wrong it would fall to Belgium to save Euroclear. That's an additional reason why it's so important for Belgium to obtain absolute protections for Euroclear." The European Union In a Difficult Position from All Sides Time is of the essence, caution seven EU member states including those bordering Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They believe the proposal to use Russian funds is "the financially feasible and practically possible solution". "This is a crucial test for us," says leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If the plan collapses, I don't know what we'll do subsequently. That's why we have to reach an agreement in a week's time". Although Russia is insistent its money should not be touched, there are further worries among EU officials that the US may want to deploy Russia's immobilized billions in another way, as part of its own diplomatic proposal. Zelensky has indicated Ukraine is working with Europe and the US on a recovery fund, but he is also cognizant the US has been talking to Russia about possible partnership. An early draft of the US peace plan suggested $100bn of Russia's immobilized capital being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US {taking|receiving
Kyiv remains running out of cash to sustain its armed forces and economy afloat, after close to 48 months of full-scale conflict with Russia. For Europe, the solution to filling Ukraine's budget hole of €135.7bn for the coming 24 months lies in assets belonging to Russia that are frozen held by Belgian bank Euroclear, and European Union officials hope to sign that off at their meeting in Brussels next week. Authorities in Russia warn the EU plan would be an illegal seizure, and Moscow's monetary authority announced on Friday it was taking to court Euroclear in a Moscow court ahead of a conclusive plan is made. 'Appropriate' to Utilize Russia's Assets, Argue European and Ukrainian Officials Overall, Russia has roughly €210bn of its assets frozen in the EU, and €185bn of that is in the custody of Euroclear. European and Ukrainian authorities argue that that capital should be used to restore what Russia has destroyed: EU officials terms it a "loan for reparations" and has proposed a plan to prop up Ukraine's economy to the tune of €90bn. "It is appropriate that the assets frozen from Russia should be used to reconstruct what Russia has devastated – and that that capital then becomes ours," says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the assets will "allow Ukraine to shield itself successfully against future Russian attacks". Russia's court action was expected in Brussels. But it is not only Moscow that is unhappy. Belgium is anxious it will be burdened by an enormous bill if it all backfires, and Euroclear CEO Valérie Urbain argues using the assets could "disrupt the world's financial order". Euroclear also has an approximate €16-17bn immobilised in Russia. Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has presented the EU with a series of "rational, reasonable, and justified conditions" before he will accept the reparations plan, and he has left open the possibility of legal action if it "carries significant risks" for his country. What is the EU's Proposal? European Union officials is working to the wire ahead of next Thursday's summit to agree on a solution that Belgium can agree to. Previously the EU has held off accessing the frozen capital directly but for the past year has paid the "excess income" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that totaled €3.7bn. Juridically, using the interest is considered safe as Russia is subject to sanctions and the earnings are not Moscow's sovereign assets. But foreign defense assistance for Ukraine has fallen significantly in 2025, and Europe has had trouble trying to compensate for the gap resulting from the US decision to all but stop funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump. There are at the moment two EU options seeking to supplying Ukraine with €90bn, to pay for a majority of its budgetary necessities. One is to raise the money on financial markets, guaranteed by the EU budget as a collateral. This is Belgium's first choice but it needs a consensus by EU leaders and that would be difficult when two member states are against funding Ukraine's military. This makes the other option providing a loan of Ukraine cash from the Moscow's immobilized capital, which were initially held in securities but have now predominantly turned into cash. That money is owned by Euroclear located within the European Central Bank. The EU's executive accepts Belgium has valid worries and claims it is confident it has resolved them. The plan is for Belgium to be safeguarded with a assurance applying to all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU. If Euroclear incur losses of its own assets in Russia, the loss would be compensated from assets belonging to Russia's own settlement agency which are in the EU. If Russia went after Belgium itself, any judgment by a Russian court would not be enforced in the EU. As an important step, EU ambassadors are poised to endorse on Friday to freeze indefinitely Russia's central bank assets held in Europe indefinitely. Previously they have had to vote by consensus every six months to continue the freeze, which could have meant a constant risk to Belgium. The EU ambassadors are expected to use an extraordinary measure under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets remain frozen as long as an "clear risk to the financial well-being of the union" continues. The Reasons Belgium is Not Yet On Board Brussels is firm it remains a strong supporter of Ukraine, but identifies legal risks in the plan and fears being left to handle the repercussions if things do not work out. A typically partisan political environment in this case has united behind Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is facing pressure from fellow EU leaders. "The Belgian economy is not large. Belgian GDP is approximately €565bn – imagine if it would need to carry a €185bn bill," notes Veerle Colaert, professor of financial law at KU Leuven University. While the EU might be able to secure adequate guarantees for the loan itself, Belgium fears an added risk of being vulnerable to extra legal costs. Prof Colaert also believes the stipulation for Euroclear to issue credit to the EU would breach EU banking regulations. "Banks need to follow prudential rules and shouldn't make one enormous loan. Now the EU is asking Euroclear to do just that. "What is the purpose of these financial regulations? It's because we want banks to be solvent. And if things go wrong it would fall to Belgium to save Euroclear. That's an additional reason why it's so important for Belgium to obtain absolute protections for Euroclear." The European Union In a Difficult Position from All Sides Time is of the essence, caution seven EU member states including those bordering Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They believe the proposal to use Russian funds is "the financially feasible and practically possible solution". "This is a crucial test for us," says leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If the plan collapses, I don't know what we'll do subsequently. That's why we have to reach an agreement in a week's time". Although Russia is insistent its money should not be touched, there are further worries among EU officials that the US may want to deploy Russia's immobilized billions in another way, as part of its own diplomatic proposal. Zelensky has indicated Ukraine is working with Europe and the US on a recovery fund, but he is also cognizant the US has been talking to Russia about possible partnership. An early draft of the US peace plan suggested $100bn of Russia's immobilized capital being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US {taking|receiving